Chapter 8: The Mighty Rumbling Beast

It turned out that after Li Bucai and Xianghong accompanied Yan Qiu back to the camp, Li Bucai sat by the river and fished for a while, but he was impatient to get the fish into the pot; he watched the fish swim around the hook without biting, so he tossed the fishing rod aside, waded into the water and tried to feel them with his hands. The fish were very clever; Li Bucai's study of fish was limited to how to get the meat into his mouth, whether by hand or with his Spear, and he couldn't catch them. After half a day of struggling, he fared worse than Yan Qiu, who at least caught three; Li Bucai wasted his effort and, carelessly, fell into deep water, ending up soaked like a drowned chicken.

It seemed the fish were uncatchable; a dignified lord reduced to this embarrassing state, he wouldn't dare let the beauties see him. Using the slope for cover, he went upstream, reached the foot of the mountain, climbed up through the grass, stripped his clothes in the forest and wrung them dry, hoping to see if he could encounter prey on the mountain, even if just to gather some wild vegetables.

It was early spring, the season for gathering wild vegetables, but Li Bucai had grown up in the City and knew only common vegetables; he was unfamiliar with anything from the mountains. He found nothing even at mid‑mountain, and in frustration, scanning from his height, he spotted a black, swaying mass on the distant riverbank. Instantly energized, he bypassed the camp and headed toward that writhing unknown creature…

"Damn, what kind of monster is this? Can we eat it?"

The surface of the White Horse River was emerald green; a breeze brushed over, stirring ripples like fish scales. In the shallow bank, a black mass stretched, with over eighty massive beasts grazing and playing in the water.

It was Li Bucai's first time seeing such a creature; it was the size of an adult elephant, with very short but stout legs. If it hadn't lacked a head shield, Li Bucai would have mistaken it for a Triceratops that vanished from Earth centuries ago. Its body was sheathed in thick scales, making it an ugly beast, but its incessant rumbling sound was even more maddening than its appearance.

Moreover, it looked extremely combative; at that moment two adult members of the herd were fighting in the shallow water, their four long, sharp horns intertwining like four swords, locked in a stalemate for a long time. One eventually fell back, sprinting toward the riverbank, with the other in hot pursuit. When they reached the edge of the forest, the front one suddenly veered sideways, slipping past a tree, while the follower failed to dodge and slammed its head into the trunk, a long horn piercing deep into the tree trunk.

Li Bucai muttered, "Ha, what strength! Fortunately the one behind isn't quick‑witted enough to turn sharply; looks like I can get a hearty lunch without much effort. Um… can we eat it?"

Just as he was secretly rejoicing, the sound of a tree snapping echoed from the forest edge. The rumbling beast struggled a few times, thrusting its head upward; the massive tree it had clasped was lifted by its light heave, uprooted, and after shaking its head a few times, it easily pulled its horn free.

At that moment, the largest beast in the riverside herd let out a sky‑ward roar, apparently commanding the two fighting rumblers; hearing the roar, the two obediently returned to the herd.

"Damn, natural divine strength and organized as a unit—what to do…" Li Bucai scratched his head, assessing the situation; even if edible, no human force could resist it. Yet he thought of the "rice" still waiting to be boiled back at the camp; he couldn't let a few delicate beauties starve with him. Most herbivores were edible; dying of poison was better than starving, otherwise they'd curse him as an incompetent lord.

"They're just a herd of baby elephants; even humans can handle creatures as massive as whales. As a human myself, how could I be scared by a few elephant BABYs?" Li Bucai kept cheering himself up, yet his confidence wavered and he dared not leave the forest.

"We need to think of a way."

Looking at the two rumbling beasts that had just chased each other, their running speed wasn't very fast; if one could be separated, he believed he could hunt it.

"If only I could dig a trap."

A trap large enough for an elephant would be impossible for one person to dig in a day. Thinking this, Li Bucai slipped around the herd to its north, hoping to find a natural small pit in the area that, once dug, would save a lot of time.

Although herbivores, Li Bucai didn't realize that even elephants are among the most dangerous species on the plains; even if he couldn't catch them, he should try to herd them northward, away from the camp, lest they wander into the camp and frighten his beauties.

He walked north through the jungle for about two li, and, as if by divine design, found a natural rock fissure ahead, over a zhang deep, large enough to hold two prey. He took out a logging axe, cut some thin branches to cover it, then laid a layer of fallen leaves until it was indistinguishable to the naked eye. He moved a large stone in front of the trap, both as a marker so he wouldn't fall into his own pit when no prey arrived, and because any animal passing by would leap over the stone and land directly onto the trap.

With everything prepared, he opened the light‑step manual he had bought from the library, and, following its instructions, tried to summon War God qi, circulating it through his legs, then forcefully inhaled upward while thrusting his feet down, executing the light‑step technique "Cloud‑Piercing Leap".

Li Bucai felt his body suddenly shoot upward with a "Peng" sound; instantly countless stars swirled before his eyes, his head struck an obstacle, then with a "Pootong" he landed on the ground, a sharp pain radiating from his buttocks, and the golden stars vanished.

"Damn, could I be the legendary one‑in‑ten‑thousand martial arts prodigy?" Li Bucai covered his head with one hand, rubbed his butt with the other, looked up at the branch he had just struck, estimating the jump to be about two stories high. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to control; otherwise he would have sought a more spacious spot.

"Damn, you dared to knock me down; today I'll definitely step on you," Li Bucai muttered, aiming at the branch that had just knocked him down, and used "Cloud‑Piercing Leap" again to spring upward. His body brushed past the branch, about to step on it, when, in his smug moment, his vision blurred again; a hidden branch among the leaves struck his head heavily.

Learning from the previous mishap, this time he jumped even higher; another fall would shatter his rear. Prioritizing his butt, Li Bucai didn't bother rubbing his head, quickly grabbed the tree trunk to steady himself, then lightly tapped one foot with a fraction of force to spring upward again, landing precisely on the branch above.

After several attempts, he managed to jump accurately to his desired spot, leapt down from the tree, and swaggered toward the herd.

At this moment the herd, having drunk their fill, was grazing while moving toward the camp.

Li Bucai followed behind the herd, picked up a goose‑egg‑sized stone, aimed at the rearmost animal, and tossed it. The stone hit its back and bounced a few times, yet the creature didn't even notice, continuing to lower its head and graze.

"Damn, such slow reaction—must be peripheral nerve necrosis." Clearly its Leather Armor was hard; this force barely even tickled.

He couldn't let them advance further; Li Bucai grabbed a larger stone, this time summoned War God qi and hurled it forcefully toward its hind leg with a "Peng" sound.

Unexpectedly, the beast stepped forward, lifting the hind leg just as the stone landed on its hoof; the bent‑leg's force rebounded the stone, nearly hitting Li Bucai, yet the creature remained oblivious.

"Damn, that's a blow to my pride—spending so much effort and it still ignores me?" Li Bucai flicked his hand; his Spear, thin as an embroidered needle, instantly elongated. Holding the Spear with both hands, he slipped from the grass, quietly approached its rear, flicked its thick tail to expose its anus, and, shaking the Spear, prepared to blast it away. Suddenly the beast swished its massive tail—thick as a rope—horizontally toward his waist, its force clearly in the tonnage range. Li Bucai quickly used the light‑step "Piercing Cloud Leap", leapt back over three zhang, landing on a willow branch.

The beast seemed to sense something, turned its head, but only glanced straight ahead, failing to spot him.

"Hey, I'm here. Come over, let's duel one‑on‑one."

The beast heard the voice, fixed its gaze on Li Bucai, hesitated briefly, then emitted two "Rumble" sounds. The herd simultaneously turned its heads, staring at him, making Li Bucai's scalp tingle.

The leading beast let out a long roar; the rumbling beast Li Bucai had previously provoked suddenly lifted its four legs and charged at him.

Seeing its ferocity, Li Bucai knew the tree beneath his feet couldn't withstand the impact. He waited; the moment its horn struck the trunk, it leapt swiftly to a neighboring tree, while the original tree, crushed by the force, crashed to the ground.

"Damn, what now?"

The herd of rumblers clearly didn't regard the tiny human before them; they just stood there watching the spectacle.

Luring away only one beast makes the chance of falling into the trap small; Li Bucai scratched his head: "Looks like we need to find a way to anger their leader."

Just then, the rumbling beast reached the base of that tree; Li Bucai vaulted, landing on its back. As his feet touched its back, the beast shook its body violently; Li Bucai used the momentum to spring to its front, flicked his Spear, executing the "Plum Blossom Snack" technique, causing the Spear to split into five heads, dazzling the beast. He then thrust the Spear forward, stabbing its soft nose, and blood spurted out instantly.

Knowing that one spear thrust wouldn't incapacitate it, Li Bucai didn't linger; while it reared its head and roared, he lightly tapped his feet, leapt several times, and bounded out of the herd.

This time it truly enraged the herd; the leader let out a long roar, "Rumble—", and the herd instantly erupted, emitting deafening rumbling sounds. Then, like a tide, they surged toward Li Bucai. Their force was colossal, like a mountain collapse, wind tearing the remaining clouds, and wherever they went, trees were uprooted.